Kimmel also criticized some members of Congress for rehearsed responses to mass shootings that blame the mental health of the gunmen rather than the weapons they use

Published February 16, 2018•Updated on February 16, 2018 at 9:07 am

Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made an impassioned plea Thursday for President Donald Trump to do more to prevent gun violence in the wake of the latest most recent school shooting, which took the lives of 17 at a Florida high school.

Kimmel's eyes teared up and his voice cracked as he condemned Trump for offering "thoughts and prayers" instead of taking action to prevent gun violence.

Politics

Kimmel also criticized some members of Congress for rehearsed responses to mass shootings that blame the mental health of the gunmen rather than the weapons they use.

"You like to say this is a mental health issue, but one of your very first acts as president, Mr. Trump, was to actually roll back the regulations that were designed to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill. You did that. Your party voted to repeal the mandates on coverage for mental health. So, I agree, this is a mental illness issue because if you don’t agree we need to do something about it, you’re obviously mentally ill.”

Kimmel was referring to a bill Trump signed last February that, as NBC News reported, rolled back an Obama-era regulation that would have added about 75,000 people to the national gun background check database to make it harder for people with mental illness buy a gun.

In an address to the nation, President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the victims of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Kimmel called out lawmakers backed by the NRA, saying, "We’re not gonna allow you to bow your head in prayer for two weeks until you get an all-clear and we move on to the next thing.”

Kimmel urged viewers to call their representatives and visit everytown.org, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun control.